Trends in lung cancer incidence in Lebanon by gender and histological type over the period 2005–2008

Introduction: Lung cancer incidence rates, overall and by histologic subtypes, vary substantially by gender and smoking. This study’s aim was to review data regarding trends in the number of cases of different lung-cancer histologies and relate these to smoking habits by gender in Lebanon. Materials and methods: Lung cancer data using ICD-O, 3rd edition, from the Lebanese National Cancer Registry from 2005 to 2008 were stratified by gender for histology type for patients aged over 18 years. Results: Lung cancer cases among males were 2.5 times higher than those in females. The most common lung cancer histology type for males and females was adenocarcinoma for all observed years. The proportion of squamous cell carcinoma in incident cases was significantly higher in males than in females for the total period from 2005 to 2008, P = 0.032, but not in individual years. The ratio of adenocarcinoma to squamous cell carcinoma in incident cases between 2005 and 2008 was 2:45 for males and 3:15 for females. Conclusion: Lung cancer histology in Lebanon is following a pattern similar to that found in most countries of North America and in Europe, where adenocarcinoma is the most prevalent subtype among both males and females.